


The Primeval Australia Project: Episode Two

by ebonyandunicorn



Series: The Primeval Australia Project [2]
Category: Original Work, Primeval, Primeval: New World
Genre: Australia, Cee Just Really Likes Team Based Fics OK, Dinosaurs, Don't Worry It Survives, Original Character(s), Primeval Australia, Spinoff, Teamsssss, There Is A Dog In This Episode, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-01
Updated: 2018-07-09
Packaged: 2018-08-28 10:34:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 10,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8442466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ebonyandunicorn/pseuds/ebonyandunicorn
Summary: When a prehistoric creature kills a man in regional NSW, Jesse Grayson is forced to admit that the anomaly problem is too big for him to deal with on his own. That doesn't mean he has to be happy about it.





	1. Scene 1 (Prologue)

**Author's Note:**

> HAPPY NOVEMBER EVERYBODY! In the spirit of National Novel Writing Month, I thought I'd share the prologue and first chapter for the second episode of The Primeval Australia Project. (After all, TPAP was originally started as a NaNo entry in 2015!) I can't promise super regular updates on this one, but these characters have been actively floating around in my mind for a while now, so I'm excited to resume their journey! 
> 
> Currently avoiding twitter (and Matthew Reilly spoilers) like the plague so all update hassles will have to be made in AO3 comments ;)

  
** THE PRIMEVAL AUSTRALIA PROJECT **

**EPISODE TWO**  


**Mahony Farm**  
 **Regional New South Wales**

The second anomaly appears with the rising sun, its unearthly white glow bathed delicately in the pale orange light of dawn. Hidden by the crest of a small hill, it is deceptively silent as it releases its predator – an enormous, fearsome carnivore with a thirst for blood, eyes like a hawk, and a sense of smell like a wolf. 

It finds that blood not far from the homestead. The owner of the property, an aging widower, is setting out on the placid chestnut gelding for his morning ride. He has barely nudged the horse into a canter when it is attacked, swift and silent, by the predator. 

The man’s screams alert his son. Days start early on the farm, so the young boy is already out in the yard when he hears his father’s last, desperate shout for help, and then the way that shout is sickeningly cut short. 

The boy runs towards the sound. By the time he reaches the site of the attack, it is already too late.


	2. Scene 2 (Cam's Apartment)

“You son of a bitch!” Joseph swore, throwing his controller down in frustration. He and his best friend were sprawled on the bean bags in Cam’s tiny apartment, approaching the tail end of an all-night gaming session, and Joseph was having his arse handed to him in Call of Duty. 

“Suck it!” Cam hooted, punching the air. He reached down to take a quick gulp of Pepsi before the next match started. “Face it, Hope, you are no match for the mighty JonesPwns94!” 

Joseph rolled his eyes. “Whatever. I’m out of practice. I’ll get you this round,” he vowed, sitting up straighter in his bean bag. 

He might have been right, too. Two minutes into the match, Joseph was leading by a significant margin. Almost a little _too_ significant. He was just about to ask Cam if he was losing on purpose when his phone rang. Keeping one eye on the TV and one hand on the controller, Joseph fished it out of his pocket. Only after reading the name on the display did he hit the pause button. 

“Hey, come on,” Cam complained. “You can play and talk at the same time!” 

“Not now, Cam,” Joseph said, rubbing his eyes. Why did she have to call when he was running on absolutely zero sleep? He held the phone up to his ear and took a breath. “Tash?” 

_“Hey, Joseph.”_ The false brightness in her voice made him grimace, stand up, and step into the bathroom to take the call in private. Tash only ever sounded that way when she was about to tell him something she knew he wouldn’t like. 

“It’s the crack of dawn. What’s going on?” he asked, his worried face staring back at him from the grimy mirror above the sink. 

He heard her sigh over the phone. _“I’ve been thinking,”_ she began tremulously. _“About Marramarra, and Jesse, and all the rest of it.”_

“Yeah, me too.” It was over three weeks after the events at Marramarra, but the _Deinonychus_ still invaded his dreams more nights than he would like – which was why he’d been pulling more and more all-nighters with Cam. He was also beginning to get slightly restless. Since that day in the park, none of them had heard anything from Jesse. Joseph had become so impatient that he’d revisited the park more than once, but there had been no sign of the glowing light. 

_“Of course.”_ Tash hesitated. _“Joey… I don’t really want to get involved.”_

“What?” 

_“Please! Just listen,”_ Tash insisted. _“The school term starts in less than a week. I need that time to prepare, and if anything happens after that, I can’t leave work. And it’s… it’s so dangerous.”_ She took a breath. _“I’m staying out of it. And I think you should too.”_

Joseph ran a hand through his hair. “You can’t be serious, Tash.” The old anger was rising in him, born of ten years of being told by his sister to sit down, stay put, and generally avoid anything that could possibly be dangerous. More than once he’d considered running away from the little cottage owned by the grandmother who had taken them in, just so he could get away from his sister’s overbearingness. The moment he’d hit 18 and university, he’d moved out and never looked back. 

_“Joseph, listen,”_ Tash said quietly. _“Jesse said we can’t get our parents back ever. So what’s the point of us running into danger again?”_

“Maybe I don’t believe him,” Jesse said furiously. “Maybe I actually care about our parents. Maybe I want to do whatever I can do see them again! But if you want to quit on it all, fine, don’t help! Never mind that maybe other people are in danger – did you ever think of that? Or are you too chicken to care about anyone but yourself?” He cut the call with a shaking finger before she could respond. 

Cam craned his neck to stare at Joseph upside-down over the top of the bean bag. “Was that Tash?” he asked. 

“Yes,” Joseph scowled, not offering any further comment. He threw himself down onto the other bean bag and reclaimed his controller. “Don’t talk to me for a while. I want to shoot things.” 

“Roger that,” Cam grinned, squinting at the screen in preparation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I missed these nerds uwu 
> 
> Next chapter: get excited to meet my girl Emma!  
> And the chapter after that: GET EXCITED TO MEET HARRY'S DOG!


	3. Scene 3 (Mahony Farm)

The thin, elegant heels on her grey suede shoes were ill-suited to the muddy, uneven terrain of the paddock, but Emma Song did not falter as she marched towards the homestead from which she’d intercepted the triple-zero call. The coordinates of the boy’s frightened, gibbering voice had been traced to this location, and so Emma had headed out to investigate the source. 

It was the first time she had set out on what sounded like an anomaly mission without Jesse by her side, and she was more unsettled than she would have liked to admit. Impeccably presented, wickedly clever, fluent in seven languages, and a member of one of the most secretive intelligence organisations in the world, unsettled was not an emotion that was overly familiar to her. 

But for the first time, she had intercepted an emergency call that clearly spoke of an anomaly attack nowhere near Marramarra National Park. Emma had wanted to call Jesse in immediately, but he had no official clearance and she didn’t want to stretch her boss’s patience more than she had already by leaving in the middle of a shift to pursue her own ‘project’. Only when she had determined that there was definitely an anomaly here would she make the call. 

Two seconds later, as she crested a rise in the muddy ground, she had her answer. 

A glimmering light was shining almost right beneath her. It had been hidden behind the rise. Taking a few steps back, Emma felt her breath catch in her chest. She’d seen an anomaly a handful of times, but every time it took her breath away with its sinister, shimmering beauty and the threat of whatever could be lurking within its sparkling depths. 

She retreated a good hundred metres before tugging her phone out of her pocket, scanning the area all around for any sign of a creature. Jesse picked up on the first ring. 

_“Emma. What is it?”_

“There’s another one, Jess,” Emma said. She spoke quietly, not wanting anything unfriendly to hear her voice. “Another anomaly. I intercepted a triple-zero call that was describing a hideous creature and a sparkling light in the sky. It’s out on a property, about forty minutes north.” 

She could almost feel Jesse reeling from the implications. A second anomaly was, in many ways, a thousand times worse than the return of the one in Marramarra. If there were two anomalies in Australia, there could be three – or ten. More than they could deal with alone. 

“I think,” Emma said, “you should call your friends.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter is short, I'm sorry! The next one is much better – it includes first meetings & reunions & puppies & Jesse being grumpy & will literally be posted as soon as I can decide on a name for Harry's dog lolll


	4. Scene 4 (Jesse's House)

He had been hesitant at first. Had argued with Emma, even. Reassembling the bumbling, semi-competent mess of civilians that had somehow come together in Marramarra almost a month ago wasn’t high on his priorities list. But Emma, as was her way, had talked him around to it. A second anomaly was a big deal. Too big for the two of them. 

He called Tash first, and was somewhat taken aback when she didn’t pick up the phone. He let the silence follow the tone for slightly too long, then left a short message – not much more than the address of the farm – and called Harry next. Fortunately, she had the day off and was happy to come in. Joseph agreed eagerly, and promised Jesse that he would pass the message on to Cam, who was apparently in the same room. Inwardly, his shoulder still sore from the _Deinonychus_ ’ claws, Jesse groaned when he heard. He’d been hoping he could get away with miraculously “forgetting” to call Cam. 

He was the first to arrive at the farm, with Harry close on his heels. Nor was she alone. 

“Who’s this?” Jesse asked, bending down to greet the German Shepherd that bounded after Harry. 

“Kiva,” Harry replied, smiling down at the dog. “My best friend in the world.” 

“Hi, Kiva,” Jesse said, bending down to scratch the dog behind the ears. He looked keenly up at Harry. “Think she might be useful?” 

She simply nodded, her attention distracted by the approach of a woman over the rise. Standing up to greet Emma, Jesse noticed something. He didn’t usually pay extra attention to women’s fashion, but now that he looked at Emma again, he realised that Harry was dressed in clothes almost identical to her rescue gear: careless ponytail, khaki shorts, and sturdy hiking boots. Rather than be amused, he was impressed. Contrasted with the pristine pencil skirt and heels that Emma wore, Harry couldn’t have looked more different – but Jesse suspected that she was, in her own way, every bit as professional as his friend. 

The thought calmed him a little. These two were all right. 

“Harry, this is Emma Song,” Jesse said as Emma caught up to them. The two women shook hands, Emma’s manicured nails contrasting sharply with the callouses on Harry’s palms. “Emma, this is Harry, a volunteer with wildlife rescue. Oh, and this is Kiva.” 

“Pleasure to meet you.” Emma’s voice was light and pleasant, but it didn’t stop Harry from noticing that Jesse had neglected to mention her profession. 

“And where do you work?” Harry asked. 

“I work in security,” Emma said easily, turning away and ending the conversation as simple as that. Rather than be offended, Harry was awed. It was done so elegantly and professionally that she couldn’t help but be impressed. This woman was clearly good at her job… whatever it was. 

Before Jesse could reply, a beaten-up car thundered down the dirt road and slid to a halt only a hundred metres away. Kiva barked once, but quietened when Harry reassured her. Jesse, recognising the sound of the screeching tyres, flinched as he looked towards Cameron in the driver’s seat. “I would really love to know who gave him a licence,” Jesse muttered, waiting with his arms folded as the two younger men clambered out of the car and approach them. 

Joseph reached them first, the determination in his eyes not quite hiding the dark circles underneath them. “Another one?” he asked. “Here?” 

“That’s why I called,” Jesse replied. 

“Where’s Tash?” Harry wanted to know. 

“She quit,” Joseph answered flatly. Jesse raised his eyebrows at Joseph’s comment, Emma at the bitterness in his tone. 

“What? Why –?” 

“Don’t ask, Cam.” 

Surprising himself, Jesse was a little disappointed. He’d expected more of Tash after her comment a month ago: _Where he goes, I go._ Thrown off balance and slightly angered by it, he squared his shoulders and pushed it out of his mind. “Joseph, Cameron, this is Emma,” he said, indicating each of them in turn. Elegant as ever, Emma stepped forward to shake their hands. “Joseph is an environmental science student,” Jesse explained. “Cameron likes video games and driving recklessly.” 

Behind him, Harry coughed to hide a laugh. 

“Pleased to meet you both,” Emma said, pointedly ignoring the way Cam was staring at her with eyes like saucers. “Is this everyone?” 

“Guess so,” Jesse said. “Let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AJ read my mind! Sorry hon, no big team gathering just yet ;)


	5. Scene 5 (Mahony Farm)

“All right.” Emma indicated the hill in the distance beyond which the anomaly was sparkling. “The anomaly is just over that hill. So far we have one suspected creature, one witness, one confirmed human death, one confirmed animal death. His horse,” she added in response to Harry’s stricken look. 

“The attack occurred within view of the yard,” Emma continued, gesturing in the other direction towards the farmhouse. “The boy who made the emergency call said he saw his father and his horse attacked by the creature, but he’s locked himself in his room and refuses to come out or answer any more questions.” 

“Did he say what kind of creature it was?” Harry asked. 

“‘A huge black monster’,” Emma quoted. “Not enormously helpful.” 

“But we know some things,” Jesse pointed out. “We know it’s a carnivore. And if it’s big enough to attack a horse, it’s big enough to attack a human.” 

“That, or it’s so hungry it didn’t care,” Harry added. 

He nodded. “Yeah, maybe.” A thought occurred to him and he took another look at her. The similarity of her current clothes to her rescue gear had stopped him from noticing something. “Where’s your gun?” 

“Back at base,” Harry said. “When I’m not working, I’m not authorised to carry one.” 

“Damn,” Jesse said quietly. “Without weapons, we don’t have a chance in hell of bringing this thing down.” 

Smiling slightly, Emma spoke up. “Jess. I’ve got us covered.” She gestured in the direction of her car – an innocuous-looking silver Holden glinting against the dirt in the early-morning sun. 

He grinned at her. 

“So what’s the plan?” Joseph asked. Despite having gulped down a double shot of coffee on his way over, he was exhausted from the gaming all-nighter, and doing his best to fight it off by staying proactive. 

“Split up and search the property,” Jesse said immediately. “Harry, you stick with Emma and Cam. Joseph, you’re with me.” 

“I’m allergic to dogs,” Cam protested, and was ignored. 

“Shouldn’t someone stay with the kid?” Harry asked. 

Emma shook her head. “There’s no point. I’ve told him we’re going to look for the creature, and the house is secure. I don’t think he’s going to move in the meantime. It’s a waste of manpower, leaving one of us here to do nothing. We need everyone on the search.” 

Harry frowned, but didn’t argue. 

“She’s right,” Jesse said. “But first –” He led the group over to the Holden and gestured for Emma to open the boot. “We need weapons.” 

The boot slowly opened to reveal several serious-looking black suitcases. “What, are you with the Mafia?” Harry exclaimed, as Emma began to enter the codes to open each of them. 

“Ho-ly shit,” Cam said quietly. 

Joseph gave a low whistle. 

In each suitcase was a shiny, sleek, silver weapon. The two mid-sized cases held what looked like high-tech pistols, while the larger one contained a long rifle, similar to the one Harry had carried last time. A fourth, smaller case held a myriad of darts with differently coloured labels. “Doses of tranquilliser,” Emma explained quietly. “Xylazine and ketamine. Red is the strongest, then yellow, then green.” 

“Emma, you’re incredible,” Jesse muttered. “Okay. Harry, you take the big one. Emma and I will take the handguns.” 

“That’s not fair!” Cam protested. 

Jesse glared at him. “Have you ever shot anything outside of a video game?” 

“I’m all right with Nerf guns,” he muttered, but he stepped back to let the others take their weapons. 

“One more thing,” Emma said. She popped the latches on a final case and withdrew two wireless radio transceivers. “Phone reception on a big property like this is going to be patchy at best,” she explained, tossing one to Jesse. “If we’re going to split up, we’ll need these.” 

“You really think of everything, don’t you?” Jesse smiled at her and she shrugged, not quite able to keep her own smile off her face. “Okay,” he said. “We’ll head east; you three, west. Keep your radios close and keep alert.”


	6. Scene 6 (Mahony Farm - East)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a pretty short nothing chapter, so I'm gonna go ahead and upload the next one right away! You're welcome ;)

As a uni student who’d pulled his fair share of all-nighters to finish a last-minute assignment, Joseph was amazed at just how tired he was. Surely playing video games was far less strenuous than writing 3000 words due at 9am? It didn’t help that he knew Cam was immune to sleep deprivation. Having spent so many nights playing online games with his friends in the US, that boy was practically nocturnal. 

“Late night?” 

Jesse was damn perceptive, too. Joseph resented him, and he also didn’t want to look incompetent next to him. “Nope,” he lied, stifling an ill-timed yawn. “I’m feeling fine.” 

“I hope so.” Jesse’s gaze was darting all over the property as he spoke, looking for any sign of the creature. “We can’t afford any mistakes.” 

“I’m not going to make any mistakes,” Joseph retorted. “Don’t you trust me?” 

“I don't know you,” Jesse replied simply. 

Joseph was annoyed, but he didn’t want to overreact in case it was just tiredness making him angry. The two lapsed into an uncomfortable silence that stretched on. 

And on. 

And on. 

They must have walked for almost half an hour before Jesse’s radio crackled into life. Heart skipping a beat, he snatched it from his belt and held it up to his ear, but was disappointed in what Emma had to say. 

_“We’ve found nothing. What about you guys?”_

“Nothing here either,” Jesse reported. “We need a better strategy. Shall we rendezvous back at the house?” 

_“Sounds good. We’ll see you soon.”_

They jogged back, still keeping alert for any sign of the creature, and reached the house just ahead of the other group. All five of them wore identical looks of disappointment and worry. Harry was the one to voice it. “This place is huge,” she muttered nervously. “Even if we all split up on our own, it could take us hours to search.” 

“We need to talk to the witness,” Jesse said. “Maybe he knows something that can help us track it down.” 

“You can try,” Emma said, “but don’t expect anything out of him. I’ve told you, he’s pretty nonresponsive.”


	7. Scene 7 (Mahony Farmhouse)

It was like trying to draw blood from a stone. 

“Hey, open up!” Jesse called firmly, knocking several times on the boy’s door. “This is the police! …Sort of.” 

“You’ll just frighten him if you do that,” Harry argued. She nudged him out of the way and peered through the keyhole. “Hey kid. Wanna come meet my dog? We really need you to open this door. We just want to ask you some questions.” 

No response. She would have wondered if he was even in the room, except she could see him on the bed, curled up under the blankets. 

“My turn.” Cam tapped her on the shoulder and she moved aside to make room for him. “Hey, dude!” he called, tapping merrily on the door. “Do you love _Call of Duty_? Do you wanna know what my high score was this morning?”

Still nothing. 

Cam shrugged. “Maybe he’s more into RPGs.” 

“We need to break down the door,” Jesse said. 

The rest of them stared at him, aghast. “Are you serious?” Harry asked flatly. “The boy’s just seen his father torn to pieces by a dinosaur, and now you want to break into his room? Are you _trying_ to scare him to death?” 

“Shh,” Emma insisted. “He can hear you.” 

“This is ridiculous,” Joseph said. “We’re wasting our time here. We could have searched half the property by now. None of us are getting anywhere with this. We need…” 

As if on cue, there was a knock on the front door of the farmhouse. All five of them spun simultaneously, guns raised. Kiva began to bark. 

Slowly they approached. Joseph opened the door. 

It was Tash.


	8. Scene 8 (Mahony Farmhouse)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year everybody! Shoutout to AJ, my most dedicated reader – thank you for all your wonderful comments, they really make my day every time! Would love to hear from the rest of you how you're finding the story so far ;) #shameless

“Hi,” she said awkwardly as they stared at her. “Sorry I’m, um, late.” 

“Changed your mind, then?” Joseph asked. There wasn’t _hostility_ in his tone, exactly, but he certainly spoke brusquely. 

“Yeah,” she said quietly, not looking at him. 

“Well, good,” he said. “We need you.” 

She shrugged a bit, denying it with her body language. “What’s going on?” 

It was Jesse who answered. “An anomaly has opened up on this property.” 

She stared at him for a long moment before she found her voice. 

“Another one?” 

“Another one.” He watched as her world swiftly came apart, the same way his had at Emma’s call. Two anomalies meant an infinite number, at any time, in any place. He could see her mind beginning to unravel at the sheer implications, so he brought her back to the present. “A dangerous predator has already killed one man and is currently on the loose. The man’s young son witnessed it, but he’s locked himself in his bedroom –” he pointed down the hall to the boy’s door “– and won’t come out no matter what we do. Do you…” He hesitated. “Do you think you could help?” 

“Use the teacher voice, Tash,” Cam hooted in a poor imitation of Yoda. 

The five of them stood aside for Tash to crouch beside the door. Like Harry, she peered through the keyhole first. The sight of the little boy hidden under the blankets almost broke her heart, but she forced herself not to think about what he must have seen. Instead she slipped into Miss Hope mode – the woman who’d had more than one kid lock themselves in the bathroom crying, who’d comforted countless boys with skinned knees and girls whose friends had said something cruel. 

“Hey there,” she called gently through the door. “I’m Tash. I’m sorry to burst into your house like this. I know it isn’t very nice.” 

No response. She hadn’t been expecting one. 

“You’re probably really frightened, hey? That’s okay. I’m a little bit frightened too.” She paused. “But the monster’s gone now. I’m here with my friends. We’re keeping watch to make sure it doesn’t come into the house.” 

Another pause. There was still no verbal response, but she saw the blankets shift ever so slightly, and two tiny eyes peered out towards the door. 

“My friends and I are monster hunters,” Tash said. “We have special weapons that are super good against monsters. But we need to find the monster first before we can use the weapons on it. We were wondering if you could help us.” 

The blankets slipped off his head, revealing pale blond hair and tiny shaking shoulders. But he still didn’t reply. 

“My friends’ names are Joseph, Harry, Jesse, Cam, and Emma,” Tash said slowly. Though she hadn’t been officially introduced, she knew that this professional-looking woman who stood close to Jesse couldn’t possibly have been anyone else. “And we have a dog, but she’s very friendly. We’re here to look after you. Do you think you could tell us what your name is?” 

He whispered it so quietly that she had to strain to hear. 

“Peter? That’s a really nice name. It means ‘rock’. Did you know that?” 

He shook his head, relapsing back into silence. 

“Do you know what ‘Tash’ means?” she continued. 

A blink. “No.” 

“Me neither.” Tash smiled. “I guess we’ll have to figure it out together, hey?” 

He looked over towards her. “I guess.” 

“Do you think you could open the door for me, Peter? Then we could chat properly?” 

A long pause. Tash felt the rest of the group hold their breath. Then, slowly, she watched the boy slip off the bed and creep, still wrapped in his blanket, over to the door. Tiny shaking fingers peeked out of the safety of the checkered warmth to flick the lock open. 

“Move,” Tash hissed, turning back to the rest of the group. “Don’t stand over him. And hide those,” she added, gesturing towards the guns. The rest of the group crept back up the hallway, concealing the weapons behind their backs. 

She turned back to the door, still crouching, in time for Peter to slowly pull it open. “Hey Peter,” she said quietly, offering a hand. “Nice to meet you without a door in the way.” 

His mouth turned up nervously at the corners. He took the hand and shook it.


	9. Scene 9 (Mahony Farmhouse)

They took Peter to the kitchen table and Harry made him a hot chocolate. Outside of the huge blanket, he looked older than Tash had first thought – maybe nine or ten. _Still too young to see what he has seen._ She quickly cut away from that train of thought. 

“Where are the monster weapons?” Peter asked. A third of a mug of hot chocolate had prompted the return of his childish inquisitiveness. 

At another gesture from Tash, they showed their guns. Peter’s eyes went wide as his mug when he saw them. “And they kill the monster?” he asked. 

“They put it to sleep,” Jesse explained. “Then we take it back to its home.” 

“Where’s its home?” 

“Somewhere very far away.” 

Peter took another swallow of hot chocolate and frowned. “But it killed my dad,” he said quietly. “Shouldn’t we kill it too?” 

Tash’s heart went cold. 

Jesse shook his head very slowly. “That’s not how we do things, Peter. Killing something is wrong, even if that something killed something else.” 

“So what are you going to do?” Peter asked, his voice getting higher with every word. “Will it come back and get me?” 

“It won’t get you,” Tash jumped in quickly. “We’re going to find it, put it to sleep, and take it back home, just like Jesse said.” 

Now Emma leaned forward to speak. “But to do that, Peter,” she said earnestly, “we need your help.” 

He began to fidget. “I’m not coming out with you,” he whispered. “It isn’t safe outside.” 

“We don’t need you to come outside,” Emma reassured him. “We just need to ask you a few questions.” 

Peter looked at Tash with big nervous eyes. She nodded and tried a reassuring smile, although she wasn’t sure how successful she was. “Just questions,” she repeated. “And you don’t have to tell us anything you don’t want to, okay?” 

“Okay.” 

“So, Peter,” Jesse said. “Can you tell us a little bit about your farm? How big is it?” 

The boy shrugged. “I don't know. Big. We have lots of paddocks.” 

“Do you keep any animals?” Harry asked. “Sheep? Cows?” 

“We have cows,” Peter said quietly. “We had a horse, too, but…” 

“Where do your cows live?” Jesse asked quickly, before the boy could think about the fate of his horse for too long. 

Peter pointed out the kitchen window. “Up north a few paddocks,” he said. “That’s where they like to graze in the summer.” 

Jesse looked at Harry, who nodded. “Okay,” Jesse said. “Then that’s where we’ll go. We’re going to look up north for the monsters. Tash, are you happy to stay with Peter until we get back?” 

“Of course.” Tash looked relieved at the prospect. 

He glanced at Emma, a strange expression on his face. “And –” 

“Yeah,” she reassured him. “I’ll stay too.”


	10. Scene 10 (Mahony Farm - North)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **content warning:** we're no stranger to creature violence in the Primeval fandom, but just so y'all know, this chapter contains some gory descriptions of animal deaths :(

“Why cows?” Cam asked as the four of them jogged across the grass. Kiva loped beside them, stopping to veer off and sniff at a patch of grass every so often, but always returning to Harry’s side. 

It was Harry who answered first. “Fits with the picture of the predator,” she explained quietly. “If it can kill a horse, it can kill a cow – they might be bigger, but they’re much more cumbersome. My money is on something territorial and protective – something that wants to eliminate all potential threats and claim this area as its own.” 

Jesse nodded. “And its sense of smell is obviously pretty powerful, or else it wouldn’t have tracked the man and his horse so easily,” he added. “They weren’t too far from the house. It wouldn’t be impossible for it to smell the cattle from –” 

Suddenly, Kiva stopped in her tracks and began to whine. 

“Kiva? What’s wrong?” Harry crouched down beside her, but a second later Kiva had sat down hard in the grass, tail tucked between her legs, whimpering quietly. 

“What is it?” Jesse asked. 

Harry shook her head, standing up to scan the area. “Nothing good. But I don’t think it’s a creature,” she said slowly. “If it was, she’d be pursuing it, or running in the other direction, not just… sitting.” She regarded the dog with a concerned expression for a moment. “Let’s move on,” she said finally. “Come on, Kiva.” 

The dog whined again, but Harry was insistent. Eventually, Kiva jumped up and reluctantly began to follow her. 

“Stay sharp, everybody,” Jesse began. “We don’t know what this thing could…” 

He trailed off as the herd of cattle came into view. 

Or rather, what remained of them. 

“Oh my God,” Cam whispered, his stomach roiling. He was shocked at how poorly years of virtual gore had prepared him for this. 

The cows had been torn apart. They were barely recognisable as animals any longer; instead, horrifying lumps of torn flesh dotted the paddock, whose grass had been tinged red from the blood. Not a single animal of the twenty-strong herd had survived. Hardly any were even in one piece. 

“Thank God Tash isn’t here to see this.” Joseph’s voice was raw. 

A gruesome noise answered him from behind. Cam was vomiting into a bush. 

“What the hell did this?” Harry whispered, her face drained of colour as she crouched beside the whining Kiva. Even Jesse was hesitant to step any closer. 

“One thing’s for sure,” he muttered. “This is a thousand times worse than the _Deinonychus_.” 

“It’s got to be huge,” Harry muttered in an awed voice. “Look at the size of those… chunks. It could eat a human in two bites.” 

“Or a small child in one. Emma,” Jesse said urgently into his radio, hoping its twin was out of Peter’s earshot, “we’re getting a better idea of this creature, and it looks like it’s huge. I wouldn’t be surprised if it could break down a door. Is there anything you can do to reinforce the house?” 

“ _I’ll work on it_ ,” was Emma’s crackly reply. 

“Okay. Be careful.” He put the radio back on his belt. “I don’t want to go closer any more than you guys do,” he said quietly to the rest of the team, “but we have to find this thing, and that means looking for any clue we can find. Come on.” 

Slowly, the four made their way towards the site of the slaughter. Kiva had point-blank refused to move by this point; Cam, his dark face tinged green, was tempted to stay with her, but his fear of being left behind outweighed the nausea, and he kept close to Joseph as the four reluctantly shuffled forward. 

“Look,” Jesse said sharply, pointing. 

There were animal prints in the blood and dirt leading away from the paddock. Cam was repulsed by the gory scene, but Joseph noticed something more. 

“They’re huge,” he gasped. 

The footprints were indeed enormous. Crouching down, Jesse let his hand hover over one of the heavy dirt imprints. His fingers did not even stretch halfway across. “Harry,” he murmured, “how big do you think this thing is?” 

The wildlife rescuer was shaking her head. “Bigger than any animal that’s supposed to live on this continent, that’s for sure. With a stride that wide, it could be as tall as you.” 

Cam finally found his voice. 

“We’re gonna need a bigger gun,” he said weakly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AJ & Ara: I TOO AM HERE FOR LADY FRIENDSHIPS. The girls will be BFFs soon enough, trust me! Emma and Tash struggle in the opening-up department, but Harry is friendly enough for the three of them, damn it


	11. Scene 11 (Mahony Farmhouse)

It seemed some things remained constant even in the midst of horrifying, life-changing events. For Peter Mahony, that constant was Saturday morning cartoons. Despite everything he had witnessed, despite his world being thrown upside down, he had managed to find some comfort in the familiar television characters, the return of his big blanket, and a second mug of hot chocolate. It also gave Emma and Tash some much-needed time to talk – and batten down the hatches. 

“I didn’t get the chance to properly introduce myself before,” Emma said, as she and Tash dragged the heavy leather couch in front of the living room door. “My name’s Emma Song. I’m a friend of Jesse’s.” 

“Tash Hope,” she replied, letting the couch fall with a grunt. “I’m Joseph’s sister. We met the others in Marramarra three weeks ago.” 

“I know. Jesse told me.” Emma regarded Tash with a curious expression. “I must admit… I’m a little surprised he let you hang around.” 

“He wasn’t keen on it,” Tash admitted, shoving the couch into position, “but they wound him down in the end.” 

“They?” 

Tash blinked. This woman was sharp. “The others,” she explained. “I mean, me too, obviously, I just wasn’t as…” She paused, then shrugged. “Anyway. I’m here now.” 

“Yes.” 

Tash looked down for a moment, tracing a split in the leather of the armrest. “Does it get easier?” she asked softly. “Dealing with all of this?” 

“No,” Emma answered. “It doesn’t.” She paused. “Honestly? I think it gets harder. Because every time it happens, you’re more anxious about the next time. You never stop being worried about people.” 

“I know how that feels,” Tash murmured. It occurred to her that she had said the exact same words to Jesse during their last long conversation. That brought another question to the forefront of her mind. “So how long have you known Jesse?” 

Emma gave a small smile, the first time Tash had seen the expression on her face. “A long time,” she replied. “We met in school. I didn’t have a lot of friends – I spent too much time in the library at lunchtimes, reading. And Jesse…” The smile faded. “Jesse was as he’s always been.” 

“Distant?” Tash offered. 

“Burdened,” Emma said quietly. “Solitary. Very private. He doesn’t make friends easily, Jesse.” 

Tash inclined her head. She’d suspected as much, judging from how hard he’d tried to keep them all out of it. Tash wondered about the kind of person Emma was, to convince Jesse to open up to her. 

Suddenly Emma’s gaze turned inquisitive, and Tash felt like she was being pinned under a bright spotlight. “Which is why I was surprised to hear that he’d let you all stay,” the woman mused. “I wasn’t sure that he would ever let anyone else in.” 

Tash blinked at her, wondering if she could read minds. It didn’t help that Tash had been wondering what good she could possibly bring to the team for the past three weeks. “Joseph will be a big help,” Tash began, feeling that she should at least stand up for her brother if not for herself. 

“Oh, I didn’t say it was a bad thing,” Emma said slowly. “Actually, I’m relieved. You do realise what this second anomaly means?” 

Tash nodded, a sick feeling gnawing at her stomach. 

“It means there could be ten,” Emma said. “Twenty. Fifty. We have no idea how many of these things are out there, or how many creatures are waiting to come through. Which is why I’m glad that you’re here, Tash. Much as he might think we can, Jesse and I can’t do this on our own.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH MY GOD, this chapter was the WORST. I have never had two characters be more reluctant to hold a conversation. I realised how abysmally close this chapter came to failing the Bechdel test completely, and I tried for weeks to rewrite it, but it just didn't get any better. So I apologise for all the talk about boys in this female-driven chapter – hopefully in the future, as Tash and Emma get to know each other better, they'll have more in common to discuss!


	12. Scene 12 (Mahony Farm - North)

“Does your dog track?” Jesse asked grimly. 

“A little,” Harry replied. “I’ve been teaching her.” Still, she hesitated, staring down at the enormous footprint with a nauseated expression. “Jesse, are you sure we _want_ to find this thing?” 

“Harry, if we don’t, the next person who does is going to end up mince meat.” Jesse met her gaze. “I know it’s scary, but the alternative is unacceptable.” 

Harry was still for a moment, then she stood up straight and squared her shoulders. “All right. Kiva, come here.” 

The poor dog was petrified and whimpering, sitting stubbornly on the grass well away from the site of the slaughter. Gently but firmly, Harry coaxed her in a calm voice, holding her hand out towards Kiva until the dog slowly trotted over. “Good girl,” Harry praised her quietly, scratching her behind the ears. “Now, have a good smell. We have to find this thing before it finds somebody else.” 

As the timid dog began to sniff around in a shy circle, Joseph approached the green-tinged Cam and gave him a sympathetic grimace. “Still excited about being in ‘real-life Jurassic Park’?” he asked wryly. 

Cam shook his head. “This is messed up, dude.” 

“You’re telling me.” Joseph stifled a yawn as they watched Kiva gradually beginning to sniff around further afield. 

“Hey, Joey?” Cam asked. “Can I ask you something?” 

“Yeah, brother, shoot.” 

Cam hesitated for a second, pushing his glasses up onto his nose. “I… Don’t be mad, Joey, but I sort of overheard your conversation with Tash this morning. I’m sorry! The walls at my place are pretty thin, and you were sort of – well – you weren’t exactly being quiet…” 

Joseph rubbed his eyes, his sleep-deprived brain struggling to recall exactly what he’d spoken about in his conversation with Tash. “And it doesn’t help that you’re nosy as hell,” he added with a wry grin. “What did I say?” 

“You, uh…” Cam stared at the ground, kicking at a clump of grass. “You mentioned your parents. Joey, are they –” 

“She’s got it!” Jesse announced, as Kiva barked sharply and began to trot away from the group in a straight line. “Let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's been so long since I updated I couldn't even remember my chapter-naming format LMAO I'M SO SORRY. But rest assured this story is alive and kicking! Next stop: ~interpersonal dramas~
> 
>  
> 
> PS: AJ, those character descriptions are coming! In classic Cee fashion I just got really into it so they'll be long and detailed for ya ^-^


	13. Scene 13 (Mahony Farm – North)

The dog took the lead, Harry close behind her, her hands steady on the rifle she carried. Joseph and Cam fell in next, with Jesse bringing up the rear. For a moment all thoughts of their conversation vanished as Kiva trotted on purposefully, her ears pricked, her nose close to the ground. After a while, though, the silence between them became awkward, and Joseph forced himself to speak. 

“Three weeks ago,” he began, “wasn’t the first time I’ve seen an anomaly.” 

“You’re kidding!” Cam gasped. 

“Actually, it was the same anomaly,” Joseph explained. “I’d seen it before. Ten years ago, with Tash and our parents in Marramarra. It appeared right in front of us… Tash and I stopped, but Mum and Dad walked towards it, and then – they took a step, and they disappeared, like, through it. And the anomaly –” 

He snapped his fingers in front of him. “Gone.” 

Cam’s eyes were wide behind the thick frames of his glasses. “You’re _kidding_.” 

“Would I kid about something like this, Cam?” Joseph asked wearily. “The anomaly vanished, taking our parents with it. And no matter how many times I went back, I could never find it again. Until last time.” 

“That’s why you wanted to go through,” Cam said. “Last time.” 

Joseph nodded. 

Cam gave a low whistle. “Wow. That’s… Wow. So you think… you think they might still be alive?” 

“Yes,” Joseph replied instantly. 

“And Tash?” Cam asked. 

Joseph grimaced, looking away sourly across the hilly terrain. “Tash thinks I’m being childish. That there’s no alternative.” 

Cam was silent for a minute as they jogged along. “I always wondered why you didn’t want to talk about your home life much.” 

“Yeah, well,” Joseph said wryly, “we had that in common, didn’t we?” 

“Bonding over our tragic backstories,” Cam grinned. 

Joseph chuckled. “Something like that.” 

“Guys,” Harry said suddenly, as Kiva began to speed up. Soon all four of them were running, following the valiant German Shepherd as she bounded along with a few fierce barks. Kiva led them all up a steep hill until even Jesse, the fittest of them, was gasping for breath. As they crested the hill, Cameron had to cover his mouth to stop from yelping. 

There was a dinosaur in the next paddock. 

Looking at it, Joseph could hardly believe it had taken them this long to find. A mere two hundred metres away, it looked as though it could nearly be as tall as a man. It had clearly rampaged into the paddock, judging by the tangled mess of wire fencing that stood between the team and the monster. It was the shape of what Joseph thought of as a “traditional T-rex”, with a powerful body and smaller forelimbs. Its tail was enormous, swaying behind its huge body as it turned from left to right, almost as though it was looking for something. 

“It’s a theropod,” Jesse said quietly, his pistol braced before his body. “Huge, strong, and almost certainly carnivorous.” 

“Is it a _T. rex_?” Cam asked. 

“I don’t think so,” Jesse replied. “ _T. rex_ has a bigger body. I think it’s an _Allosaurus_.” 

“A _bigger_ body?” Joseph gasped. “Jesse, that thing is built like a truck!” 

Suddenly the dinosaur raised its head, spying the four humans on the hill. Kiva began to bark as Harry raised her rifle. 

“Whatever it is,” she said grimly, “it’s coming this way.”


	14. Scene 14 (Mahony Farm – Northwest Paddock)

“Cameron, Joseph, get behind us,” Jesse said urgently, raising his gun and widening his stance. Taking a deep breath, Harry cocked her rifle, Kiva barking at her feet. Joseph and Cam took one look at each other before dropping back by several paces, though not so far that they couldn’t see over the crest of the hill. 

“It’s not exactly charging,” Jesse murmured as they watched the _Allosaurus_. It was approaching them, but not at speed. It was almost hesitant as it trotted towards the hill, its enormous head swinging from side to side. 

“What’s it looking for?” Harry wondered aloud. “It looks almost lost.” 

“Makes sense,” Jesse reasoned. “It’s wandered through an anomaly into a world that’s a hundred million years out of its time. I’d look lost, if that happened to me.” 

It was a fair statement. Harry opened her mouth to agree, but at that moment the dinosaur decided it was actually interesting in charging, and when it wanted to move, it moved. Its clawed feet sunk deep into the earth as it stormed up the hill, its massive body swaying side to side as it shifted its weight. Within a matter of seconds, it had reached the halfway point up the hill. 

Harry shot first, the yellow dart firing in a smooth line down the hill to plant itself squarely in the _Allosaurus_ ’ shoulder. The dinosaur staggered for a moment, its feet slipping slightly on the grass before renewing its assault. 

“I think it heard you,” Harry muttered. 

Jesse smiled grimly, raising his gun and firing. The enormous animal was well within range of his pistol now. He, too, had chosen a medium-strength yellow dart. Watching, Harry nodded her approval – it made sense to start with the intermediate dose. Too weak, and the tranquilliser would have no effect; too strong, and the sedative would kill the dinosaur. Though her life was in danger, Harry felt no great urge to see the creature dead. The part of her brain that wasn’t directly occupied with survival felt a sense of awe at this miracle of the past come back to life. 

It seemed the second shot had been sufficient to slow the dinosaur. The _Allosaurus_ gave a low whine and stopped in its tracks, its huge head bobbing lower. 

Jesse reached into his pocket for another dart, but Harry was faster. She had already reloaded her rifle – choosing a green dart this time, owing to the creature’s reduced stamina – and held the sight to her eye. As the _Allosaurus_ looked up at them, Harry fired with expert accuracy, striking the beast right between its small forearms. The great creature swayed, moaned, then crashed to the earth, the impact shaking the ground beneath their feet. 

Joseph breathed a sigh of relief. 

“Is it dead?” Cam asked, his forehead beaded with sweat. 

“Tranquilised,” Harry corrected. “Difficult to estimate how long it’ll be out without knowing its exact weight and metabolism, but I’d say we should have enough time to throw this thing on the back of a truck and drive it back through the anomaly.” 

There was a brief pause, during which the members of the team looked at each other without moving. Eventually it was Jesse who said, “We need to confirm it’s unconscious.” 

“I know,” Harry agreed, making no movement to get any closer to the enormous body of the _Allosaurus_. Kiva, who had stopped barking, took a seat resolutely in the dirt, as though affirming everyone’s reluctance to move. 

It was Joseph, finally, who took the step. “Come on,” he said, walking quickly past Harry and Jesse. His pace slowed as he approached the dinosaur, with Jesse and Harry now in step beside him, Cam a cautious few paces behind. The _Allosaurus_ ’ enormous torso moved gently with every slow breath, but its eyes remained closed. _Can dinosaurs play dead?_ Cam wondered anxiously. 

“Looks pretty out to me,” Joseph breathed, as Harry paced in a cautious circle around the body of the beast. 

“Agreed.” Jesse’s voice was barely above a whisper. Moving very slowly, he reached out and took hold of a long piece of timber that had once been part of the fence surrounding the paddock. As he reached out to poke the _Allosaurus_ ’ enormous shoulder, Cam squeaked in fear. 

“Relax,” Jesse said. “It looks pretty unconscious to me.” He prodded the creature again firmly. It did not stir. 

Harry, crouched by the dinosaur’s huge feet, cleared her throat. “Jesse?” Something in her tone made all three of the men turned to look at her. Harry’s freckled face was pale. “I think we have a bigger problem,” she said. 

“What’s wrong?” Joseph asked. They watched as she reached out a hand. Her fingers, spanning the _Allosaurus_ ’ enormous foot, were trembling. 

“It’s not big enough,” she said. 

Cam laughed out loud. “Are you kidding? What the –” 

“No,” Jesse said, cutting him off. His face was grim. “She’s right.” 

Harry waggled her fingers, splayed out over the creature’s foot. “Jesse’s hand could barely reach halfway across the footprints we saw,” she explained. “This one is different. Smaller.” 

“Which means…” Joseph began. 

“Which means there’s another one out there. And it’s bigger.” 

In the stunned silence that followed, Jesse’s radio exploded with panicked screams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DUN DUN DUNNNNNN 
> 
> I missed these kids, so I thought it was about time I gave them a revisit! Apologies to everyone who's suffered through the hiatus. Hopefully I can have this chapter finished soon! :)


	15. Scene 15 (Mahony Farmhouse)

“It’s here!” Emma yelled into the radio, her voice nearly drowned out by the sound of an enormous creature trying to smash its way through the living room wall. “And it’s _huge!_ ” 

Tash, who had screamed at the dinosaur’s first appearance, forced herself into action. She grabbed the terrified Peter and pulled him as far from the creature as she could, dragging him towards the hall. There, standing protectively over him and biting her quivering lip to keep herself from screaming again, she watched as Emma abandoned the radio and began to load the tranquilliser gun in efficient, practised movements. 

She wasn’t quite fast enough. 

With a roar and a toss of its enormous head, the creature smashed its way through the wall, showering Emma in shards of brick and dust. Barely flinching, the woman raised the loaded gun, paused for a second to steady it, and fired – striking the dinosaur squarely on the muzzle. 

It might as well have been a friendly pat on the head. The creature barely stopped to shake its head like a dog getting water out of its ears before it charged into the house. 

Emma turned and fled, gesturing for Tash and Peter to run. “Go! Move!” 

Tash didn’t need to be told twice. Grabbing Peter by the hand, she hurtled down the hallway towards his bedroom at the back of the farmhouse. When they reached it, she paused for a precious second to crouch beside him, her hands on his shoulders. “Peter,” she said, forcing her voice not to shake, “I know you must be scared, and I’m really scared too. But I want you to hide here in your room, and I’m going to stand outside and protect you. Hop under your blanket if that’s where you feel safe, and don’t open this door until we tell you it’s OK to come out. All right?” 

He nodded silently, blue eyes wide in his pale face. She touched his cheek briefly, gave what she hoped was a reassuring smile, and stood up. As he scurried into the room and threw the blankets over his head, she closed the bedroom door and stood in front of it, her hands shaking as she held her arms out wide. 

_What the hell was she supposed to do now?_

Emma had retreated to the top of the hallway, the huge creature out of sight around the corner. Tash watched as she loaded the gun with a red dart – the strongest possible dose of tranquilising agent – before raising the rifle’s sight to her eye and firing in a smooth motion. For a moment, as she lowered the gun, a look of hope blazed across Emma’s face, but then a terrifying roar sounded. The creature was far from falling. 

“Oh, for God’s sake,” Emma breathed, hastily emptying the chamber with one hand as she scrabbled at her belt for a third dart with the other. There was the sound of a window shattering from around the corner as she hastily retreated halfway down the hall to buy herself some time. As she did so, she glanced over her shoulder at Tash, who had a second to marvel at her calm expression before a sight over Emma’s shoulder caused her to scream. 

“Emma, look out –” 

The huge creature had appeared around the hallway corner. Tash felt a jolt of pure fear shoot down her spine, paralysing her completely. The animal was so big it could barely fit its shoulders around the bend in the hall. It dwarfed Emma utterly, but the woman barely paused in her deft movements. For a third time, and from a range so short it made the rifle looked like a child’s toy, she raised the gun and fired. The red dart buried itself deep in the animal’s neck. 

_How is it still on its feet?_ Tash thought, watching hopelessly from her position by the door. The creature was certainly agitated, but it showed no signs of losing consciousness anytime soon. Emma retreated quickly backwards, but the animal was enraged now. Pain made its movements frantic, and it charged clumsily forward, its powerful snout lunging towards Emma with the force of a truck. Only a quick movement saved her from ten broken ribs, but even as she leaped to the side, the creature’s enormous nasal horn swiped the rifle right out of her hands. Off-balance, she stumbled on the hallway carpet and fell back against the wall, her head thudding against the exposed brick. Tash watched her eyelids flutter as she slumped, dazed, to the floor. 

Now it was only a matter of metres between Tash and the creature. Her heart in her mouth, she watched it hesitate for a second before it turned its slightly glassy eyes on her. At that point she felt all the blood drain from her face. _It’s going to charge,_ a distant part of her brain noted. _I have to move, I have to get out of the way, I have to get out –_

But it was useless. She was utterly paralysed with fear. Her feet felt glued to the floor, her palms sweating and shaking as she held them hopelessly in front of the doorway to Peter’s room. She was sure she would collapse, except that her legs refused to move even to buckle. Part of her heard the creature roar again, but it was like the sound was draining away from the world, replaced only with the noise of the blood pounding in her ears. The options were supposed to be fight or flight, but her body had chosen freeze. 

The creature began to charge. 

Tash closed her eyes.


	16. Scene 16 (Mahony Farmhouse)

There was a sound like thunder and she wondered if this was it, if that was the noise a dinosaur made as it slammed into your body and through a door and into a room, but she could feel nothing, and surely that would hurt – 

“Tash!” 

Joseph’s voice made her eyes fly open, and the sight was nearly enough to make her collapse all over again, this time in relief. Her brother stood behind the body of the enormous creature, which lay slumped in the hallway, two more red darts shining on its back. Behind it, Harry and Jesse were lowering their guns. 

Tash took three dazed steps forward, but her body refused to allow her to move any more. Joseph ran to her, throwing his arms around her, holding her tight as she sobbed into his shoulder. More calmly, but no less urgently, Jesse went straight to Emma and helped her to her feet, then embraced her in a tight hug. She did not cry, but she was shaking like a leaf in the wind as he held her. 

“You okay, Tash?” Joseph whispered. 

She shook her head mutely against his chest, her breath coming in shuddering, terrified gasps. 

“Where’s the kid?” Harry asked. 

Emma, blood trickling down her cheek from where a shard of brick had cut her, pulled away from Jesse and pointed to the bedroom door behind Tash. Harry quickly strode towards it, Kiva on her heels. Cam, who had barely stepped foot into the hallway, hovered where he was for a moment with his eyes on the shaking Tash, before he blinked rapidly and followed Harry and the dog. 

“You’re bleeding,” Jesse remarked, wiping the blood gently from Emma’s cheek with his sleeve. “Are you hurt anywhere else?” 

“I hit my head,” Emma replied, her voice scraping against her throat. “But I didn’t pass out. We were lucky. I got three shots in, but it was just so… _big_ …” 

“Yeah, I know. We had enough trouble taking down the baby.” Jesse stepped back from Emma and began to survey the scene. The enormous body of the dinosaur took up much of the hallway of the destroyed house. Glass shards from the windows, mixed with fragments from the shattered TV screen, coated the floors in the living room, while the upended coffee table had been reduced to pieces of timber scattered across the carpet. The entire place was coated in fine brick dust. It looked like something out of a horror movie. 

“Jesse,” Emma gasped, grabbing his sleeve, “there could be an infinite number of these things out there.” Her eyes were wide to the point of wild, her grip panicked on his shirt. “How are we supposed to –” 

“Shh. I know. I know.” He touched her hand, very briefly, where it held him. “Later. We’ll talk about it later. Let’s clean this all up first.” 

Joseph approached, an arm around Tash, whose face had drained of nearly all colour. She stared fixedly at a point in space, as though not seeing anything around her. “I’m taking Tash home,” he announced in a raw voice. “She needs to rest.” 

Emma nodded, her expression calm once more. “We’ll debrief later,” she told Joseph. “I’ll text you.” 

As Joseph began to gently guide his sister out of the ruined house, Tash roused herself enough to stop him in his tracks. “Wait,” she said. “Peter –” 

“It’s okay,” Emma reassured her. “We’ll take care of him. You go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay guys so I know not much happened in this chapter but can we take a moment to appreciate the _aesthetic_
> 
> pictured: a colossal theropod collapsed in the hall of a ruined farmhouse, behind which stand jesse (think jonathan from stranger things with darker hair and an aussie accent) and harry (my girl whom I genuinely love so much and whose faceclaim continues to elude me but google iskra lawrence and you will get a bit of an idea - curly blonde hair and curves and a big big smile!!) both holding smoking tranquilliser guns immediately followed by a solid goddamn amount of hugging because it is my professional opinion that neither primeval series included nearly enough hugs. 
> 
> ps when I rewrote this chapter prior to posting I realised I'd completely left cam out of the scene lmao I love him, I swear


	17. Scene 17 (Jesse's House)

**Jesse’s House**

Four hours later, with directions in a message from Emma, Joseph drove them both in Tash’s car to a modest brick house that was uncomfortably close to Marramarra National Park. He had never visited Jesse’s place before, although Tash had. She had been so still and silent on the drive – and, indeed, all afternoon – that Joseph might have thought she was asleep, except that her eyes remained almost ceaselessly open, as though she were afraid to close them for what she might see. 

They were the last to arrive. Emma, a piece of gauze taped across one cheek, was perched on the couch, absentmindedly tapping her fingers together. Cam was standing awkwardly off to one side as though he wasn’t quite sure if he was allowed to be there. Jesse had pulled a few chairs from the dining table and was seated sideways in one, his gaze moving ceaselessly about the room while simultaneously avoiding eye contact with everyone in it. Harry, who had opened the door, smiled when she saw Joseph and Tash. There was a bandage on her upper arm. 

“Come in,” she said, and her smile faded. 

They followed her into the living room. Emma looked up at them and nodded. “There isn’t too much to discuss,” she said without preamble. “Jesse and I spent some time at the anomaly site. The anomaly itself closed not long after you left.” 

Joseph, who had taken a seat across from Jesse in one of the dining chairs, let an honest, relieved smile flash across his face. Harry nodded appreciatively. Tash, on the couch, gave no indication that she had heard a thing Emma had said. She simply continued to stare, her gaze fixed on the window. 

“The damage to the farmstead was extensive,” Emma continued. “It’s a mixed blessing that Peter and his father lived so remotely. We don’t anticipate much media attention, and the boy is obviously unable to live alone on the property from now on, so we should be able to minimise the damage from a public perspective.” 

Tash had begun to tremble. 

“If the worst happens, our angle is an animal attack. As to the boy himself, I’ve referred him onto the Department, where he will be appropriately taken care of –” 

“ _Appropriately taken care of?_ ” Tash repeated, suddenly on her feet. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” 

Emma looked up, her expression surprised. “Well – family options explored, and if not, foster care. Psychological support will be offered, of course –” 

“Foster care and counselling? That’s all you’re going to do for him?” There was such fury in Tash she could barely see straight. The emotions that she had kept bottled up all afternoon – sorrow, rage, guilt, _fear_ – were boiling over. The events at Marramarra three weeks ago had shaken her, had played over and over in her dreams for weeks, but that was nothing compared to the physical action of placing her body between a dinosaur and a child – a child who would now forever be scarred by the events that had occurred today. “None of you are going to sit him down and explain?” she demanded. “Nobody is going to apologise? We’re not going to tell the whole world about this – this fatal _thing_ that keeps happening out of nowhere?” 

“Tash,” Jesse began, “you know we can’t –” 

“Why not? Because nobody would believe us? What’s the alternative, Jesse – waiting around for the next one of these things to appear and make someone’s child an orphan?” Her voice had risen in both volume and pitch and she was ashamed to feel the tears prick her eyes. She would not, she _would not cry!_ For if she started to cry, she would not be able to go on speaking, and this was too important not to be said. “But that would be a convenience for you, Emma, wouldn’t it? The less people who survive, the less witnesses you have to deal with!” 

Now Jesse, too, stood up. “That is out of line –” 

“Enough.” Emma held out her hands to both of them. “Jesse, sit down.” She waited until he had done so before speaking again. “Tash, that’s just untrue. Nothing makes me feel sicker than hearing the news that somebody has been killed by one of these… monsters. But I have to look out for the greater safety of the Australian people, and right now, the worst thing we could do would be to go public on this.” 

Tash shook her head, staring mutely up at the ceiling with her jaw thrust forward to keep the tears from spilling over. 

“You’re a teacher,” Emma continued gently. “I know this must horrify you. But Peter will be looked after by the people in the Department. They will do a far better job than any of us could.” Tash still refused to look at her, so Emma, with a short, despairing sigh, turned instead to Jesse. 

He picked up the cue smoothly. “For the time being,” he said, not quite able to meet Tash’s eye, “our job will remain the same – to stay alert for any sign of an anomaly, and to respond promptly and safely should one arise. Emma will continue to monitor the emergency lines. Harry, if you could keep an ear to the ground in the event of any unusual animal attack reports, I’d appreciate it. Same goes for you on the internet, Cam.” The boy’s eyebrows raised when Jesse said his name, as though he’d expected the rest of them to have forgotten about him. Jesse held his gaze evenly as he continued, “Anything suspicious, report it to myself or Emma immediately.” Jesse took a breath and looked straight at Tash. “If we hear something, do you want to be contacted about it?” 

She stared at him for a moment, uncomprehending. There were still bright tears in her eyes. How was she supposed to answer that? Did she _want_ this? Did she want her life, her heart to be ripped apart every time God decided to tear a hole in the fabric of the universe and set a monster on innocent people? And if she didn’t, did that make her weak? How could she be expected to maintain a steady job, a normal life, if she always had to be ready for disaster? But if Joseph was determined to remain involved, how could she walk away? 

“You don’t have to decide now,” Harry suggested. “Hopefully we’ll have some time before – I mean if – this happens again.” She did her best to offer a smile. “You’ve got our numbers. Think about it.” 

_Oh, I’ll be thinking about it,_ Tash thought to herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WEEEEEEEE'RE BACK, BITCHES 
> 
> Has this episode really been going for _two years?_ I'm a terrible author. But big things have happened, like I now have a full-time job and so much less time for writing! BUT I remain committed to these babies and I want to do the right thing by them, which is finish the story. 
> 
> I also have very vague episode synopses for three seasons' worth of goodness/feels so get keeeeeeeen for that


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